Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Resting through the storm

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.A friend sent me a link to this story and the timing of it is wonderful. I've chosen to make sure that I don't have any regrets. Or at least the regrets I do have will be as few as possible. So many times I would fail to witness to someone because I wanted to keep their friendship. I'd fail to point out a problem in a relationship because I was afraid the relationship would only get worse. And now, I'm talking more than people are use to. Things are changing.So when a storm comes, and it will come, I'll know I haven't left anything unsaid that actually needed to be said. I'll rest easy, knowing that those I love know I love them. I've found myself apologizing to people that didn't even realize I'd done something wrong. Found myself writing more letters telling people how appreciated they are, and most challenging of all, found myself putting those "appreciate what you do's" into verbal conversation more.I hope that in my daily work I will always take care to cover my friends and family with prayers. To put away grudges and old hurts. And most of all, I hope I never forget, to bar the door of offence. So when the storm comes, things will be ok. I can rest easy through storms knowing that I've done everything that needed to be done is done.May I love daily, right and well.